The ITU Internet Reports cover almost a decade of the evolution of
the internet and the fixed and mobile telephone networks. The
reports began under the title "Challenges to the network" in 1997
and there have been eight so far.
All eight reports contain specific examples in different economies,
as well as a global overview.
The Statistical Annex to each report
contains data and analytical charts on up to 206 world economies.

For more information, contact lara.srivastava(a)itu.int.

2006

digital.lifeis the eighth in the series of ITU Internet Reports, launched
in 1997, and focuses on consumers and looks at how human lives are being
continuously shaped and re-shaped by advances in digital
technologies.

Prepared especially for ITU TELECOM World
(December 4-8 2006 in Hong Kong), the report begins by examining the
underlying technological enablers of new digital lifestyles, from
upgrading network infrastructure to value creation at its edges. In
studying how businesses are adapting to fast-paced digital
innovation, the report looks at how they can derive value in an
environment driven by convergence at multiple levels. The question
of extending access to underserved areas of the world is considered
as an important priority. In light of media convergence, a fresh
approach to policy-making may be required, notably in areas such as
content, competition policy, and spectrum management. Moreover, as
our lives become increasingly mediated by digital technologies, the
role of digital identities (both abstract and practical) presents a
new challenge. Concerns over privacy and data protection are not
being sufficiently addressed by current methods for managing
identities online. As such, the report examines the changing digital
individual, and outlines the need for improving the design of
identity management mechanisms for a healthy and secure digital
world.

The Internet of Thingsis the seventh in the report series and
takes a look at the next step in "always on" communications, in
which new technologies like RFID and smart computing promise a world of
networked and interconnected devices that provide relevant content
and information whatever the location of the user. Everything from
tires to toothbrushes will be in communications range, heralding the
dawn of a new era, one in which today’s Internet (of data and
people) gives way to tomorrow’s Internet of Things.

The late Mark Weiser (at the time chief scientist at the XEROX
Palo Alto Research Center) is quoted to have said: “The most
profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave
themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are
indistinguishable from it.” This well-known citation refers to the
increasing “availability” and decreasing “visibility” of processing
power. In other words, computing through dedicated devices will
slowly disappear, while information processing capabilities will
emerge throughout our surrounding environment. With the benefit of
integrated information processing capacity, industrial products will
take on smart capabilities. They may also take on electronic
identities that can be queried remotely, or be equipped with sensors
for detecting physical changes around them. Such developments will
make the merely static objects of today dynamic ones - embedding
intelligence in our environment and stimulating the creation of
innovative products and new business opportunities. The Internet of
Things will enable forms of collaboration and communication between
people and things, and between things themselves, hitherto unknown
and unimagined.

The Portable Internetis the sixth in the series and was specially prepared to
coincide with ITU TELECOM Asia 2004, Exhibition and Forum, to be
held in Busan (Republic of Korea) from 7 to 11
September 2004.

This report examines the emergence of high-speed
wireless Internet access together with the proliferation of portable
devices. In so doing, it explores the market potential and future
impact of this new set of technologies underlying the "portable
Internet". Chapter one, the Introduction, defines the portable
Internet for the purposes of the report, focusing in particular on
its disruptive nature relative to existing business models, and
examines the stakes for industry and the public sector. Chapter two, Technologies for the portable Internet, provides a technical
overview of high-speed mobile and wireless networks underlying the
portable Internet. Chapter three, Market trends, looks at
growth patterns, market opportunities, pricing strategies and
corporate strategies. Chapter four, Policy and regulatory
aspects, discusses the challenges faced by regulators and
policy-makers in an increasingly portable environment. Chapter five,
The Portable Internet as a tool for bridging the digital divide,
considers the impact of the portable Internet in underserved areas
and looks at the role played by national policy, community
initiatives, education and affordability in extending its reach.
Chapter six, The future of portable Internet technologies,
explores cutting-edge developments and future market applications.
Chapter seven, The information society and the human factor,
looks at the impact of portable Internet technologies on society and
socialization.

Birth of Broadband is the fifth in the
series and was specially prepared for the ITU TELECOM World 2003
Exhibition and Forum, held in Geneva from 12 to 18 October
2003. As one of the “hot topics” of the telecommunication
industry in 2003, broadband is expected to be one of the highlights
of this year’s show. This new report examines the emergence of
high-speed, dedicated Internet connections that will greatly expand
the world’s access to information. Broadband will also facilitate
the long-expected convergence of three previously distinct
technologies: computing, communications and broadcasting.

Internet for a mobile generation
is the fourth in the series and examines the possibilities and challenges
emerging from the convergence of two distinct sectors of the
telecommunication economy, the Internet, and mobile telephony.

Chapter one of the report defines the mobile Internet
in the larger context of technological con­ver­gence and market
demand. Chapter two, Technologies and applications,
provides a technical overview of high-speed mobile networks and
available services and applications for the mobile Internet. It also
examines the competition or co-existence of various network
technologies. Chapter three, Market trends, takes
a look at the changing landscape and the commercial challenges
involved in creating a mass market for mobile Internet services.
Chapter four, Regulatory and policy aspects, discusses
the hurdles faced by regulators and policy-makers in a converging
market environment. Chapter five, Case studies,
summarizes a selection of examples taken from country case studies
carried out by ITU, looking at how individual countries are
approaching, or have approached, licensing and deployment of 3G.
Chapter six, Conclusions: Towards a mobile information society,
looks ahead to the broader societal implications of the mobile
Internet.

IP Telephonyis the third in the series and ooks at the topic of IP
Telephony. Internet Protocol (IP) Telephony is rapidly reaching the
top of the agenda for the telecommunications industry worldwide. The
key issue that has gained the attention of policy-makers,
regulators, and industry alike is that the Internet, and other
IP-based networks, are increasingly being used as alternatives to
circuit-switched telephone networks. The many different `flavours'
of IP Telephony provide, to varying degrees, alternative means of
originating, transmitting, and terminating voice and data
transmissions that would otherwise be carried by the public switched
telephone network (PSTN). In many countries it is now possible,
using a standard telephone, to call almost any other telephone in
the world by means of IP Telephony. By 2004, this could account for
up to 40 per cent of all international traffic. Because these calls
are mainly carried outside of the PSTN, they are also outside the
regulatory and financial structures that have grown up around it.
The transmission of voice over IP-based networks, with its
challenges and associated opportunities, of voice and data
integration, etc., constitutes a milestone in the convergence of the
communications sector, and this report discusses and analyses many
of the issues surrounding IP Telephony.

Internet for
Development is the
second report in the Challenges to the Network series (now called
ITU Internet Reports). This version of the report was prepared
specially for TELECOM '99, held in Geneva 10-17 October 1999, and
contains the very latest data for Internet host computers. The
subject this year is the role of the Internet in economic and social
development, with a focus on developing nations. Individual chapters
look at the use of the Internet for commerce, for health and for
education. Other chapters look at the impact of the Internet on the
public telecommunication operators of developing countries, and on
the challenges facing regulators.

Telecoms and the Internet is the first in the series, published 1997. The subject of
the report is the Internet, and more particularly the relationship
between the Internet and the telecommunications industry. The
development and growth of the Internet is arguably the biggest
single challenge that the telecommunications sector faces in the
last years of the 20th Century. But it is also its biggest
opportunity